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IRISH PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION OF

FINLAND AS A TOURISM

DESTINATION

Bachelor’s Thesis

Degree Programme in Tourism

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KUVAILULEHTI Opinnäytetyön päivämäärä 10.5.2007 Tekijä(t) Hanna Terho Koulutusohjelma ja suuntautuminen

Matkailun koulutusohjelma, Savonlinna Matkailun liiketoiminta

Nimeke

Irlantilaisten mielikuva Suomesta matkailukohteena Tiivistelmä

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on osoittaa, minkälainen on irlantilaisen mielikuva Suomesta matkai-lumaana. Pää tarkoitus on näyttää millainen näkemys ja millaisia mielikuvia irlantilaisella henkilöllä on Suomesta matkailukohteena. Tämä opinnäytetyö keskittyy siihen, miten nämä mielikuvat ja näkemykset ovat, miten ne syntyvät ja vaikuttavat matkailukohteen valintaan.

Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin kyselylomaketutkimuksella haastattelemalla 68 tutkimukseen osallistujaa Corkissa, Dublinissa ja Sligossa. Osallistujat olivat yli 15-vuotiata miehiä ja naisia. Aineisto kerättiin käyt-tämällä satunnaisotanta menetelmää.

Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että Suomi on Irlannissa kehnosti tunnettu sekä maana että matkailukoh-teena. Suurimmalla osalla vastaajista oli stereotyyppisiä näkemyksiä Suomesta. Kerätty aineisto osoit-taa, että Suomi nähtiin kylmänä, kalliina ja kaukaisena maana, jolla on kaunis maisema ja lunta. Suomi yhdistettiin sen luontoon ja sijaintiin Pohjois-Euroopassa. Talviset asiat yhdistettiin eniten Suomeen, kuten kylmä sää, lumi, hiihto ja Lappi. Joulu ja Lappi sekä muut näihin liittyvät asiat kuten joulupukki, revontulet ja hiihto olivat miellyttävimpiä asioita, jotka yhdistettiin Suomeen. Suurin ongelma vastaajille oli vastata kysymykseen numero 6 ”Kuinka kuvailisit Suomea matkailukohteena?” Yleisin vastaus oli: ”En tiedä miten kuvailla Suomea matkailukohteena.” 15 prosentilla.

Päätelmänä on, että Irlantilaisten tietämys Suomesta on huono. Irlantilaisten ihmisten subjektiivinen mielikuva Suomesta voidaan muuttaa markkinoinnin avulla. Suomen markkinoijien kannattaisi painottaa vahvistamaan irlantilaisten ihmisten jo valmiina olevia positiivisia mielikuvia ja yrittää oikaista vääriä tai olemattomia mielikuvia positiivisempaan päin.

Asiasanat (avainsanat)

Irlanti, Suomi, mielikuva, kohde imago, matkailukohteen imagomarkkinointi

Sivumäärä Kieli URN

53 s. + liitt. 2 s. Englanti

URN:NBN:fi:mamk-opinn200725882

Huomautus (huomautukset liitteistä)

Ohjaavan opettajan nimi

Leena Fyhr ja Natalia Kuschseva

Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantaja

Matkailun edistämiskeskus MEK, Lontoon toi-misto

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Date of the bachelor's thesis

10.5.2007

Author(s) Hanna Terho

Degree programme and option

Degree programme in Tourism, Savonlinna Tourism Management

Name of the bachelor's thesis

Irish People’s Perception of Finland as a Tourism Destination Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis shows how Irish people see Finland as a tourism destination. The main aim is to show what kind of perceptions and images Irish people have about Finland as a tourism destination. This bachelor’s thesis focuses on how destination image and perceptions affect the destination choice and how these are born.

The data for this bachelor’s thesis was collected through a questionnaire survey by interviewing 68 par-ticipants in Cork, Dublin and Sligo. The parpar-ticipants were both men and women over the age of 15. The data was collected by using random sampling methods.

The results of this thesis show that Finland is poorly known in Ireland as a country or as a tourism desti-nation. Most of the participants had stereotype perceptions of Finland. The collected data shows that Finland was seen as a cold, expensive and far away destination with beautiful scenery and snow. Finland was associated with its nature and location in the North Europe. Most of the associations about Finland were combined with winter such as cold weather, snow, skiing and Lapland. Most appealing things about Finland were Christmas and Lapland and other related things such as Santa Claus, the Northern Lights and skiing.

The conclusion is that Irish people have poor knowledge of Finland in general. Irish people’s subjective images of Finland can be changed by marketing. Marketers of Finland should emphasise strengthening the positive images that already exists in the minds of Irish person and try to correct the wrong or non-existing images into something positive.

Subject headings, (keywords)

Ireland, Finland, perception, destination image, destination image marketing

Pages Language URN

53 p. + app. 2 p. English URN:NBN:fi:mamk-opinn200725882

Remarks, notes on appendices

Tutor

Leena Fyhr and Natalia Kushcheva

Bachelor´s thesis assigned by

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1 INTRODUCTION... 1

1.1 Research background... 1

1.2 Research aims and objectives ... 1

1.3 Research questions ... 2

2 IRELAND AND IRISH PEOPLE ... 3

2.1 Facts about Ireland ... 3

2.2 History of Ireland ... 4

2.3 Irish tourists ... 6

3 TOURISM IN FINLAND... 7

3.1 Tourism facts... 7

3.2 Appealing factors... 9

3.3 Marketing of Finland in Ireland... 10

3.4 Irish tourists in Finland ... 12

4 TOURISM DESTINATION IMAGE ... 14

4.1 Tourism destination ... 14

4.2 Perception ... 14

4.3 Destination image ... 16

4.4 Image and perception as a determinant of tourists’ destination choice ... 17

5 MARKETING OF TOURISM DESTINATION... 18

5.1 Marketing... 18

5.2 Destination image marketing... 18

6 RESEARCH EXECUTION... 20

6.1 Research methods... 20

6.2 Questionnaire design... 21

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6.3.2 Sample size ... 25

6.4 Research execution and data ... 26

6.5 Data analyses... 28

6.6 Research reliability and validity... 28

7 RESEARCH FINDINGS... 29

7.1 Interviewees background ... 29

7.2 Questionnaire analyses... 29

7.2.1 Question number 2 ... 30

7.2.2 Question number 3 ... 31

7.2.3 Questions number 4 and 5 ... 32

7.2.4 Question number 6 ... 37

7.2.5 Questions number 7 and 8 ... 42

7.3 Results utilization ... 44

8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS... 44

8.1 Conclusions ... 44

8.2 Recommendations ... 47

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 49

APPENDICES 1 Questionnaire

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research background

This thesis was started in October 2005 while the researcher was living in Ireland in Sligo as an exchange student. The idea for the topic came from the researcher’s own interest in how Irish people see her home country as a tourism destination. Re-searcher’s own interest to the topic and the fact that she was able to gather data al-ready in Ireland was a big help in finishing this thesis.

In October 2005 the researcher contacted the Finnish Tourist Board’s London office to see if they would be interested in the topic for her research. The commission came from the Finnish Tourist Board’s London office and the researcher was able to start the research process already in Ireland. The Finnish Tourist Board’s London office was interested in the topic, since there is not any similar research done about the topic be-fore. A similar research has been done about how people in seven different European countries see Finland as a tourism destination and it was commissioned by the Finnish Tourist Board. The UK was included in the research, but Ireland was not. (Finnish Tourist Board 2007)

There is one thesis written about Finland as a holiday destination in Ireland by Heidi Weselski in 1999. This thesis concentrates on two questions. What are Irish travel agencies and travel operators opinions and experiences of Finland as a tourism destina-tion for an Irish tourist and how is an Irish leisure tourist seen in the eyes of Irish tour operators? (Weselski 1999, 2.)

This thesis concentrates on how an Irish person sees Finland as a tourism destination, what is Irish people’s perception of Finland and how they would describe Finland in their own words.

1.2 Research aims and objectives

The purpose of this research is to find out what kind of perceptions and images Irish people have about Finland as a tourism destination. The emphasis is to find out the first

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things that come in to the Irish people’s mind when they are asked to describe Finland. This shows the appealing and unappealing factors of Finland based on Irish people’s images. The thesis also aims to find out the actual depth of knowledge people have about Finland. The research will also show what the future of Finland looks like on the Irish market and what kind of research could be done in the future.

The literature review contains secondary data about Ireland and Irish people, tourism in Finland, how Finland is marketed in Ireland, how images form based on perceptions, what kind of a role destination image plays in tourists’ decision making and destination image marketing.

The researcher uses the data collected from the respondents to analyse what kind of perception and images Irish people have about Finland as a tourism destination. With both secondary data and the primary data collected through the questionnaires, the researcher is able to come into conclusions about how Finland is seen as a tourism des-tination in Ireland and conclude what the future will look like. The biggest aim for the Finnish Tourist Board’s London office is to get actual data about how Irish people see Finland as a tourism destination.

1.3 Research questions

What kind of perceptions Irish people have about Finland as a tourism destination? How appealing is Finland as a tourism destination in the eyes of Irish tourists? What is the future for Finland on the Irish market?

To answer these main questions the researcher designed a questionnaire (appendix 1.) for the Irish people to answer. The questionnaire (appendix 1.) was designed in a way to ensure obtaining all the necessary data to answer the main research questions. The researcher also interviewed the product manager of the Finnish Tourist Board’s Lon-don Office. With the semi-structured focused interview (appendix 2.) researcher was able to get current information about how Finland is marketed in Ireland.

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2 IRELAND AND IRISH PEOPLE

2.1 Facts about Ireland

Ireland is an island located between the North Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea. Its neighbour country is the United Kingdom. Ireland has an area of 70,280 sq km, its length is 486 km and width 275 km. Ireland is divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom. (National encyclopedia 2007.)

The Republic of Ireland has a population of 4 235 000. Its capital Dublin has 505 739 inhabitants (Dublin city). Other big cities are Cork City with 119 143 inhabitants and Galway City with 71 983 inhabitants. Irish population is mostly offsprings of Celts, Anglo-Saxons and Normans. During the last few decades Ireland has received people from all over the world. (Wilén 2007, 4.)

Ireland has two official languages; Irish and English. Only 1% of the whole population speaks Irish as there mother tongue, although 31 % of the population speaks it. Irish people are mostly Roman Catholic by 92 %, but 3 % of the population are Protestants. (Finnish Tourist Board 2007.)

The climate of Ireland is dominated by the Atlantic Ocean. The average temperature is annually around 9 °C. In the summer the daily mean maximum is about 19 °C and in the winter mean daily minimum is about 2.5 °C in the middle and east of Ireland. The area temperature of these areas tends to be more extreme than in the other parts of the country. (MET Éireann 2007.)

Ireland has strong wind especially in winter. The annual mean wind speed varies be-tween 4 m/sec and 7 m/sec. The duration of sunshine is highest in the southeast of Ire-land. The highest rainfalls are in the northwest, west and southwest of Ireland, because of the south-western winds from the Atlantic Ocean. Rainfall is highest during the win-ter months and lowest in early summer. The variation between annual number of days that have more than 1 mm of rain is about 150 in the dryer parts and 200 in the more humid parts of Ireland. (MET Éireann 2007.)

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Irish people are polite, warm and friendly. They are open when it comes to meeting foreign people. They love to talk about sports, especially about football, golf, rugby, horseracing and betting. The situation between Northern Ireland and Ireland is still a delicate subject. Family is a sacred institution for the Irish. Irish people are patriotic and religious, although young people who live in Dublin are not as religious as young people who live in the countryside. They are also more open about family planning. (Wilén 2007, 14.)

2.2 History of Ireland

The Celtic warriors came from the central Europe to Ireland around 300 BC. The Celts divided Ireland into five provinces: Leinster, Meath, Connaught, Ulster and Munster. Later on Meath merged into Leinster. The Celtic era lasted 1 000 years, in which time they left a legacy of language and culture. Christianity reached Ireland between the 3rd and 5th centuries. Missioners were the ones that introduced Christianity to Ireland, the most famous of the missioners was St. Patrick. (Davenport etc. 2006, 33.)

The Vikings came to Ireland at the end of the 8th century. They first landed on the Lambay Island of Dublin. They attacked the Celts and won most of the battles, because of their established weapons. The Vikings founded their kingdom to Dubh Linn, which later on became Dublin. Other towns that the Vikings founded were Wicklow, Water-ford and WexWater-ford. In 1014 the Viking era was over, but Norsemen stayed in many parts of the island. (Davenport etc. 2006, 34.)

The Anglo-Normans from England came to Ireland in 1169. There were many battles between the chiefs of the different tribes in Ireland. Also the Normans settled into Iland adopted the Irish culture. The Normans founded the town of Kilkenny, which re-tains its medieval character still today. (Davenport etc. 2006, 35.)

Henry VIII reinforced the English authority in the 16th century. He declared himself as the king of Ireland. At that time in England the church had become protestant, but the Catholic Church remained in Ireland. To reinforce the protestant religion oppressive penal laws were enacted in 1695. These laws prohibited Catholics from owning land or

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entering any profession and banned the Irish culture, music and education. Some Catholics converted into Protestants, but most continued to be Catholic secretly. In the 18 the century Catholics owned barely 5 % of Irish land. (Davenport etc. 2006, 35-37.)

In 1791 an organisation called the United Irish Men was formed in Belfast, inspired by the French Revolution and The American Revolution. The leader was Theobald Wolfe Tone, who gathered the Irish men together to reduce Britain’s power in Ireland. The organisation’s efforts were fruitless. In 1823 Daniel O’Connell founded the Catholic Association. The aim was to get political equality for the Catholics. The organisation succeeded and Daniel O’Connell won a seat in Parliament. This led to new laws, which granted limited voting rights to Catholics. (Davenport etc. 2006, 37-38.)

The great famine started in 1845 and lasted until 1851. At that time three million peo-ple died or were forced to emigrate from the country. The great famine led to the Land War, which was battled in 1879 – 1882. As a result of the war tenant farmers gained fair rents and were able to own their own land. (Davenport etc. 2006, 38-39.)

The Sinn Féin - movement declared Ireland independent in 1919. But it took 2 years for United Kingdom and Ireland to make a treaty to divide Ireland. In 1921, 26 coun-ties of Ireland formed the Irish Free State and six protestant councoun-ties in the north stayed as a part of the United Kingdom. The constitution was passed in 1922 and it was confirmed again in 1937.Ireland separated from the British Commonwealth in year 1949. In the same year Ireland became a republic. Ireland became a member of the UN in 1955 and in the year 1973 Ireland joined the EC. (Wilén 2007, 4.)

Ireland suffered from the on going conflicts between the northern Catholics and Protes-tants. These conflicts lasted 25 years and culminated in 1972. On Bloody Sunday 13 civilians were killed by the British police in Derry. (Davenport etc. 2006, 43.)

The Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. The agreement meant that the new Northern Ireland got full legislative and executive authority. In 1999 Ireland became a part of the European Monetary union’s third stage. Ireland got its first female president Mary Robinson in 1990. In 1997 Mary McAleese became the second female president

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and she will hold her Irish presidency until 2011. (Davenport etc.2006, 45-46; Wilén 2007, 4.)

2.3 Irish tourists

A beach resort is the most popular holiday destination amongst Irish people. The main destinations are Great Britain, Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, Portugal and Greece. Irish people’s holidays are mostly beach, city and skiing related. Irish people’s travelling season is year-round. (Finnish Tourist Board 2007.)

Irish residents made 6 848 000 overseas visits in the year 2006. The increase was 12 % compared to the year 2005. The reasons for travel in the year 2006 were holi-day/leisure/recreation (3 864 000), visit to friends/relatives (1 648 000), business (813 000) and other reasons (523 000). The average estimated length of stay in the year 2006 was 8 nights per journey. The statistics show that the average length of stay for tourists whose reasons for the visit were to visit their friends or/and relatives was over 9 nights. The average length of stay for tourists who were on a holi-day/leisure/recreation trip was 8 nights, tourists who had other reasons for the trip stayed for 7 nights and for business travellers the average was 6 nights. (Central Statis-tic Office Ireland 2006, 7-10.)

The Central Statistics Office Ireland estimates that the total expenditure by the Irish residents classified by the reasons for journey was 5 918 000 euros in the year 2006. Tourists whose reasons for the journey were holiday/leisure/recreation spent on esti-mate 3 557 000 euros, which was more than any of the other groups. The second came tourists whose reasons for the journey were to visit their friends or/and relatives, third came business travellers and last came tourists who had other reasons for the journey. (Central Statistics Office Ireland 2006, 7-8.)

The most popular travel months in the year 2006 were June, July and August. July was the most popular, second came August and third June. (Central Statistics Office Ireland 2006, 2.)

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3 TOURISM IN FINLAND

3.1 Tourism facts

Finland is marketed as a tourism destination by the Finnish Tourist Board, MEK. It has 15 offices abroad. The Finnish Tourist Board’s main emphasise is on marketing of Fin-nish travel products and services together with FinFin-nish travel industry and the creation of new contacts with the travel agencies and tour operators. The foreign offices also organise seminars and workshops and they coordinate Finland to be introduced at the most remarkable travel fairs of each country.(Finnish Tourist Board 2007.)

In the years 2000 – 2005 the number of foreign visitors travelling to Finland has in-creased. In the year 2005 there were about 5 million visits by foreign travellers. The increase was 4 % to the year 2004. The visitors are mostly from Russia, Sweden, Esto-nia, Germany and Great Britain. Visitors from Russia have been the biggest passenger group since year 2000. Already in 2005 every third visitor came from Russia. In the years 2000 – 2005 the second biggest passenger group was from Sweden. Visitors from Germany have been the third biggest group until the year 2003. From year 2004 onwards visitor numbers from Estonia have increased. Visitors from Estonia were in the years 2004 – 2005 the third biggest group. There were nearly half a million Esto-nian visitors in Finland in the year 2005. (Krzywacki etc. 2006, 126.)

DIAGRAM 1 Thousands of passengers 0 200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 1 400 1 600 1 800

Russia Sweden Germany Est ona Great

Brit ain

Norway Unit ed

St ates

France

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(Krzywacki etc. 2006, 126)

The most popular visitor months in years 2000 – 2005 have been June, July and Au-gust. In the years 2000 – 2004 the busiest month for travelling was July. Only in the year 2005 August became busier for travelling than any of the other months. Since the year 2002 the lowest month for travelling has been February. (Krzywacki etc. 2006, 132.)

The main reasons for travelling to Finland have been a leisure trip and a business trip during the years 2000 – 2005. From the year 2000 onwards leisure trips made by for-eign visitors have been the most general reason for travelling to Finland. The number of leisure trips has increased every year. In the year 2005 the percentage of leisure trips was 42. The second common reason for travelling to Finland has been a business trip. The number of business trips during the years 2000 – 2005 has varied, but in 2005 there were nearly 200 000 more business travellers than in the year 2000. (Krzywacki etc. 2006, 135.)

The average length of stay made by foreign visitors was 4.2 nights in the year 2005. The percentage of visitors who did not stay overnight in Finland was 38 %. The second common length of stay was one night by a percentage of 14. Visitors from Sweden, Russia, Germany and Estonia stayed longest in Finland. Same-day visitors came to Finland mainly form Russia. (Krzywacki etc. 2006, 136, 144.)

Helsinki was the most popular destination in Finland in 2005. One third of all foreign visitors stayed in Helsinki. In 2005 the second most popular destination was Eastern Finland and third Southern Finland. The three most significant locations visited in 2005 were Helsinki, Lappeenranta and Turku. (Krzywacki etc. 2006, 42-43.)

Foreign visitors left nearly 1.4 billion euros in Finland in 2005. Foreign visitors spent 16 per cent more in 2005 than in 2004. The average amount spend in a day was 52 euros and total expenditure per visit per foreign visitor was 271 euros. Visitors from Russia spent more per day than other nationalities. (Krzywacki etc. 2006, 145.)

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3.2 Appealing factors

Finland is part of the frigid and temperate zones. The Arctic Circle creates an appealing factor for Finnish tourism. The location in the north attracts tourist not only from countries nearby but also from the major outbound countries further away. Finland has four seasons of which the winter and summer seasons are the most attractive ones. (Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 20 – 23.)

Summer in Finland is quite cool if compared internationally. The thing that makes Fin-nish summer appealing internationally is the nightless nights. On the other hand FinFin-nish winter has the dayless day, the period of darkness. Internationally Finnish winter has more and more tourism potential in the future. The strengths of the Finnish winter are based on snow and ice, which create a lot of possibilities for different kinds of outdoor activities. One of the appealing factors of Finnish winter is the Northern Lights. (Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 23 – 25.)

The Finnish spring is not seen as a potential tourism season. Spring time is associated with the migration of birds, which appeals to the bird devotees. The Finnish Autumn is well known of nature’s a short-lived blaze of colours, “ruska”. Autumn’s appeal is in the recreational activities that it has to offer.

(Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 27.)

According to Vuoristo and Vesterinen (2001, 124) Finland can be divided into different tourism areas depending on what each area has to offer for a tourist. These areas are named the cultural region, lake district, East-Finland’s mountain area and Lapland. The Finnish Tourist Board (2007) divides Finland into even more specific categories. These are Helsinki region, southern Finland and archipelago, Finland’s west coast, lake dis-trict Finland and Lapland. (Visit Finland 2007)

Finland is a remote area, which offers peace and quiet in a safe natural environment. Recreational tourism is one of the key elements that Finland has to offer for tourists. Finnish nature provides different kinds of recreational activities in summer and winter time in forests and river basins. In the winter season of 2005, 17 per cent had practised

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some outdoor activity and also in the summer season of 2005, 19 per cent. (Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 29 – 34, 41; Krzywacki etc. 2006, 57.)

The Finnish landscape is unique and diverse. Landscape can be seen as appealing factor in two ways, on one hand it offers recreational activities and on the other hand it’s a unique natural environment worth seeing. Finnish nature’s relief has created a tourism attraction like mountain areas, fells and skiing resorts.

(Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 35 – 38.)

Finland’s tourism attraction does not lay only on nature and recreation activities, it also offers cultural attractions. A great deal of Finland’s appeal is originated from the things relating to culture. In 2005 one third of all visitors had paid a visit to at least one cul-tural attraction in Finland. Culcul-tural attractions are strongly connected to nature, most attractions have both cultural and natural appeal. (Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 49 -59; Krzywacki etc. 2006, 60.)

Finland has a high standard of living and it is a safe society, which have been one of the factors to increase the business and congress travel. Finland is one of the most impor-tant congress travel countries in relation to its population. (Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 65.)

Finland can be described as a modern land high up in the North. Finland is known for its high technology as well as a land with thousands of lakes. Although many research-ers argue that last quality does not really describe the whole of Finland. Finland is a country that offers culture attractions and nature based activities in different seasons. (Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 67 - 72.)

3.3 Marketing of Finland in Ireland

The marketing of Finland in Ireland is a responsibility of the Finnish Tourist Board’s London office. The Finnish Tourist Board has concentrated on direct marketing to dif-ferent tour operators and travel providers and also marketing through media. The Fin-nish Tourist board has brought journalists and other media persons to Finland hoping to get more publicity. The Board markets Finland to the travel providers and tour

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op-erators in different ways that aim at making them interested in the country. The aim is to get the travel providers and tour operators to sell Finnish travel products, mainly the Helsinki package. At the moment there are no direct flights all year round from Finland to Ireland, which has created a difficulty to get travel providers and tour operators in-terested in Finland. In the past the Finnish Tourist Board had different kinds of market-ing campaigns for example in Irish magazines, because there was direct flights all-year-round. (Balza 2006.)

In 2006 the Finnish Tourist Board marketed mainly Helsinki and a combination pack-age with Helsinki and Tallinn. This combination packpack-age was designed on request from the Irish travel providers and tour operators. Christmas holidays are not marketed, be-cause the Finnish Tourist Board believes they market themselves. In the past school children’s winter holidays were popular period, because there were direct flights all-year-round. (Balza 2006.)

The Finnish Tourist Board sees young people as potential tourists for Finland in the future. Marketing plans for the future are to concentrate on the peak season and pro-mote Finnish skiing, activity and city holidays as well as cruises to Helsinki. Other travel products that the Finnish Tourist Board plans to market are fly-and-drive holi-days. Cultural holidays in Finland have not been that well received in Ireland, for ex-ample the Savonlinna Opera festival has not been selling during the past years. In the future the main marketing channel will be the Internet. (Balza 2006.)

The Finnish Tourist Board targets different travel products to the Irish markets. These are Helsinki-city breaks, Tampere short break and Santa holidays. The target groups are 25 – 55 years old couples, young people and couples with children who are inter-ested in Christmas holidays.(Finnish Tourist Board 2007.)

In 2007 the Finnish Tourist Board concentrates marketing on Helsinki city breaks and Tampere short breaks. One of their marketing tools is to bring foreign media to Finland. General marketing will be handled by sales calls, participating to the annual IATA meeting and by offering a press lunch. Tampere short breaks will be aimed at young people 18 – 25 years old, families with children, couples and groups of friends

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who have no children and people who are interested in fishing. (Finnish Tourist Board 2007.)

The marketing plans of Finland in Ireland for year 2008 are as follows: educational tours, fairs and workshops, Helsinki city breaks, Tampere short breaks, winter in Finland and media visits, the main themes of which are Helsinki city breaks, Tampere short breaks and the ultimate snow adventure. Marketing of Helsinki city breaks will be aimed at consumers mainly through the Internet. (Finnish Tourist Board 2007.)

3.4 Irish tourists in Finland

In the year 2005 Irish people brought 8.3 million euros of travel receipts to Finland. The travel receipts increased in the year 2005 with 0.2 million euros compared to the year 2004. The highest travel receipts were in the year 2003, when the Irish tourists left 9.2 million euros to Finland. (Travel Facts 2007, 9.)

TABLE 1

Suomeen saapuneet matkan tarkoituksen mukaan Matkailutulot (milj.€)

Arrivals to Finland According to the Purpose of the Trip Travel Receipts (in €mill.)

Vuosi Vapaa-aika Sukulaiset/tuttavat Työmatkat Yhteensä Vuosi Year Leisure Relatives/Friends Business Total Year

2001 22 000 2001 7.2 2002 22 000 2002 8.4 2003 22 000 2003 9.2 2004 13 000 2004 8.1 2005 2005 8.3 (Travel Facts 2007, 9)

In the year 2006 there were 27 217 overnights in all accommodation spnet by the Irish tourists in Finland. During the last six years (2000 – 2006) the number of Irish tourist overnights in all accommodations in Finland has increased with 67.90 %. The increase of overnights between years 2005 and 2006 is 24.7 %. The most popular months in the years 2004 – 2006 have been July, August and December, the last one being the most popular one. (Travel Facts 2007, 9.)

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TABLE 2

Yöpymiset majoitusliikkeissä kuukausittain

Overnights in All Accommodation Facilities by Month

Kuukausi Month 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006* Tammikuu January 1 052 1 135 818 992 606 779 755 Helmikuu Ferbuary 858 2 639 969 4 185 798 848 882 Maaliskuu March 1 278 1 416 1 522 1 451 770 866 1 004 Huhtikuu April 1 329 1 745 1 143 4 181 1 027 1 058 1 149 Toukokuu May 1 271 1 046 1 263 1 351 1 009 1 322 1 285 Kesäkuu June 1 828 2 165 1 637 1 624 1 487 1 380 2 477 Heinäkuu July 1 693 2 551 1 667 1 612 2 352 2 468 2 876 Elokuu August 1 763 2 014 4 210 2 764 2 168 2 111 3 659 Syyskuu September 1 458 1 465 1 919 1 670 1 567 1 022 1 708 Lokakuu October 1 266 1 135 1 397 1 482 1 076 969 1 433 Marraskuu November 959 1 071 864 921 723 728 1 146 Joulukuu December 1 448 3 885 5 069 4 645 8 538 8 269 8 843 YHTEENSÄ Total 16 203 22 267 22 478 26 878 22 121 21 820 27 217 Muutos Abs. Abs. Change 6 064 211 4 400 -4 757 -301 5 397

Muutos % Change in % 37.4 % 0.9 % 19.6 % -17.7 % -1.4 % 24.7 %

(Travel Facts 2007, 9)

The most popular overnight season in the year 2006 was summer (Apr. – Oct.) with 51.2 %. The second was winter (Nov. – April) with 48.8 %. Summer season (Apr. – Oct.) has been the most popular in the years 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Only in the years 2003 and 2005 the winter season (Nov. – April) has been more popular with 61.4 % and 58 %. (Travel Facts 2007, 9.)

TABLE 3

Yöpymisten alueellinen jakauma vuonna 2006 maakunnittain* / Foreign Overnights in 2006 by Provinces*

Uusimaa Uusimaa 12 634 Keski-Suomi Central FIN 818 P.-Karjala North Karelia 177

josta Helsingin alue

of which Helsinki

R. 12 618 Etelä-Karjala South Karelia 107 Satakunta Satakunta 127

Lappi Lapland 8 347 Pohjois-Savo Pohjois-Savo 724 Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso 59

Ahvenanmaa The Åland Islands 35 Päijät-Häme Päijät-Häme 434 Kanta-Häme Kanta-Häme 239

Varsinais-Suomi Varsinais-Suomi 900 Etelä-Savo Etelä-Savo 151 Itä-Uusimaa Itä-Uusimaa 61

Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa 1 314 Pohjanmaa Ostrobothnia 102 E.-Pohjanmaa S. Ostrob. 130

Pohjois-Pohjanmaa N. Ostrobothnia 564 Kainuu Kainuu 43

K.-Pohjanmaa Centr. Ost-rob. 251 (Travel Facts 2007, 9)

In the year 2006 Irish tourists stayed overnight mostly in Helsinki or Lapland. The most popular place was Helsinki with 12 618 overnights, the second was Lapland with 8 347 overnights and third was Pirkanmaa with 1 314 overnights. In all together 46.4

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% stayed overnight in Helsinki, 30.7 % stayed in Lapland and 22.9 % in the rest of Finland. (Travel Facts 2007, 9.)

According to the interview with the product manager of Finnish Tourist Board’s Lon-don office, in the year 2006 they targeted mainly two different travel products to the Irish market, these were Helsinki city breaks and Helsinki – Tallinn combination pack-age. Different tour operators sold also winter holidays and Christmas holidays. (Balza 2006.)

4 TOURISM DESTINATION IMAGE

4.1 Tourism destination

“Destinations are places that attract visitors for a temporary stay, and range from con-tinents to countries to states and provinces to cities to villages to purpose build resort areas.” (Pike 2004, 11). Destination is a term that is applied to a country, a region within a country, a city and or coastal resort. The meaning of destination varies be-tween tourists depending on how they see or describe the place of their holiday. How-ever the meaning of a destination for a tourist is more than just a geographical place, there are also other factors included. According to Seaton (1996, 351): “A destination is both a physical entity (a geographical location with spatial, physical properties) but it is also more intangible socio-cultural entity (made up of its history, its people, its tradi-tions and way of life). (Lumsdom 1997, 238 – 239.)

“A destination is not just something that actually exists; it is also what is thought to exist, a mental concept in the minds of its tourists and potential tourists.” (Seaton 1996, 351)

4.2 Perception

One of the definitions is that “perception is the process through which people see the world around themselves (Schiffman & Kanuk 1987, 174). Perceptions do not have to

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be the actual truth, in some cases they are formed without the experience or knowledge and often they are a subjective observation of the world. Perceptions can be either positive or negative. (Schiffman & Kanuk 1987, 174 – 175.)

According to Pizam and Mansfeld (2000, 208): “Perception has been defined as the process by which an individual receives, selects, organizes and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world.” Every individual is different which means that also their perceptions of their surrounding environment differ from each other. Antonides and Fred van Raaij (1998, 109) point out: “People differ in their perception of reality depending on their own experiences, life histories, and personal situations.” (Pizam & Mansfeld 2000, 208)

“Perception can be created without experience and knowledge of the object/person. This is often the case when tourists develop perceptions of a destination prior to its visitation.” (Reisinger & Turner 2003, 148). There are marketing techniques that make it possible to change negative perceptions of a destination. However, the best way to change people’s perceptions of a destination is when people get actual experience from this destination. According to Reisinger and Turner (2003, 150): “perceptions of tour-ists who had never experienced the product before (or had very limited experience of it), and whose perceptions are mostly created on a basis of the knowledge gained from promotion instead of first-hand experience, may differ from the perceptions of tourists who had experienced the product.”(Pizam & Mansfeld 2000, 205.)

Perception theory consists of many principles. These perceptual principles are cognitive distance and size impression, effort after meaning, selective perception, expectations and closer. It is said that physical reality is not the same as perceptual reality. Tourists’ perception of distance and size are subjective observations rather than the exact truth. For example distance measured geographically and distance perceived subjectively by people may differ. Some destinations may seem to be further from tourists’ home coun-tries than they actually are. (Pender 1999, 78 – 79.)

According to Pender (1999, 79) the process known as effort after meaning refers to human tendency to seek to impose a meaning when confronted by new stimuli. This

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refers to the importance of creating first impressions that stimulate favourable expecta-tions about the tourist experience. (Pender 1999, 79)

Selective perception proposes that people never see all that is there or what they are intended to see. People edit and interpret stimuli through filters which are derived form their own background and experiences. (Pender 1999, 79.)

Perception theory also talks about expectations and closer. Expectations refer to a fact that perceptions are mostly learned. “We frequently perceive what we expect to per-ceive and are disappointed if we do not do so.” (Pender 1999, 79) Closer refers to hu-man desire to complete incomplete stimuli. Tourists tend to have a need to bring the visitor experience to a close in a satisfying manner. (Pender 1999, 79 – 80.)

4.3 Destination image

In some cases perceptions and attitudes are used as substitutes for image. Pizam and Mansfeld point out: “images are the results of composite perceptions which are, in turn, dictated by attitudes to results in positive or negative image.” (Pizam & Mansfeld 2000, 210 – 215)

Destination image can be described as the perceptions of a place and as an alternate word of photo of a place. According to Pender (1999, 77): “Destination image com-prises all the associations, images and evaluations, favourable and unfavourable, which a person holds about a place, and it is thought to be a major influence on destination choice.” (Day etc. 2001, 177)

There are two kinds of levels of destination image. These are organic image and in-duced image. Organic image is collected information about a destination from non-commercial sources like radio, TV, film, books, poetry, education etc. It can also in-clude a destination’s history, politics, natural and human catastrophes. Organic image is difficult to change, because it is mostly maintained through stereotypes and prejudices. Induced image is formed of deliberately-promoted commercial information sponsored

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by an organisation to attract visitors. Organic image is seen as more influential on des-tination choice than inducted image, but both of them influence people’s images on a destination. (Pizam & Mansfeld 2000, 211; Pender 1999, 77 – 78.)

In a marketing concept destination images are built on unique attributes which the des-tination can claim. The more these unique attributes help to distinguish the desdes-tination from similar destinations the greater the attraction of the destination to tourists will be. It is important for marketers to evaluate their destination’s image, so that they can de-termine how it can be enhanced. According to Lee, Lee and Lee (2005, 840): “Destina-tions with stronger positive images are chosen.” (Holloway 2002, 69; Vellas and Bé-cherel 1999, 187.)

What is important to remember is that the images of a destination are developed of people’s personal characteristics like their motivation and past experience. According to Beerli and Martin (2004): “when individuals have actually visited a place, the image that they form after the visit tends to be more realistic, complex, and different from the one formed through secondary sources of information.” (Pizam & Mansfeld 2000, 205)

4.4 Image and perception as a determinant of tourists’ destination choice

“Image determines destination choice, successful tourism development, tourism mar-keting strategies, and travel decision-making.” (Reisinger & Turner 2003, 168) It is said that there are three main factors that affect the destination choice. These are time, distance and budget. The actual as well as perceptual distance between a destination and a tourist’s home country affects tourists’ destination choice. Distance is often per-ceived subjectively by people. (Pender 1999, 78.)

Images and perceptions of a destination are external variables that affect tourists’ des-tination choice. Perceptions of a tourism desdes-tination have a strong influence on the choice of a vacation destination. “The more favourable perceptions, the greater the likelihood of choosing a product from similar alternatives.” (Reisinger & Turner, 2003, 151).In the destination choice process tourists formulate images of alternative

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destina-tions already at the beginning of this process. Destination image is seen as one of the constraints in tourists’ destination choice. (Pizam & Mansfeld 2000, 15, 20, 82.)

5 MARKETING OF TOURISM DESTINATION

5.1 Marketing

Marketing is all about finding out customers’ needs and wants. By knowing customers’ needs and wants, it is easier for the marketer to plan how to fill these needs and wants. According to Holloway (2004, 6) “Marketing is all about anticipating demand, recog-nising it, stimulating it and finally satisfying it.” Marketing is a way of making a profit from the products and services. That means that marketing also involves both pricing and promoting the products and services. (Holloway 2004, 6-7.)

5.2 Destination image marketing

Destinations are seen much more as intangible services than actual products, in that sense the images that tourists have about a destination affect their travel destination decisions. According to Laws (1995, 133): “Successful destination marketing entails projecting a clear image to chosen target markets, and offering clients satisfying prod-uct experiences which meet their expectations.” If the images that tourists have do not match with the marketing strategies, the marketing strategies should be thought over. Destination marketing is successful when both tourists and marketers’ image of the destination matches together. These images should always be positive and attractive in the minds of the tourists. Thus destination marketers have to know how tourists see the destination, especially what are the most attractive qualities of the destination before they start promoting it. According to Laws (1995, 7): “For a destination to be success-ful in the eyes of potential tourists it is important to know the key things that attract tourists to a destination.” (Laws 1995, 104 – 133.)

Tourism image is based on "picture", which is identified with the destinations appealing factor or factors. In marketing context images are built around the unique attributes

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that the destination has to offer. When a destination can distinguish itself from other similar destinations, the greater the attractions of the destination are to the tourists. In most cases destination image should be inducted by the tourist office to separate the destination from the similar ones in a way that it becomes more attractive than its simi-lar competitors. For example it is not enough for a seaside resort to offer good hotels and beaches, it should have something extra. (Vuoristo & Vesterinen 2001, 67; Hollo-way 2002, 69.)

For a destination to become successful it should differentiate itself from other similar destinations. There is a need for marketers to research images held by potential tourists about the destination, since if the images are not realistic marketers should plan a strat-egy to move the images closer to reality. The first step is to figure out the desired age, which has to be feasible in relation to present resources and reality. Then the im-age held by potential tourists should be assessed to get accurate and current results. The gaps between the desired image and images held by potential tourists should be identified. Images are not changed rapidly, since people have difficulties changing their pre-existing perceptions. “In marketing it is important to realise that consumer acts or reacts on basis of their perceptions, not on the basis of objective reality.” (MacDonagh, Linehan & Weldridge 2002, 29) Actual experience of the destination is been shown as most effective image modifier. There are marketing means to correct negative images into positive. One way of changing tourists’ image perception of a destination to both appealing and truthful is by using branding as a technique. (Lumsdom 1997, 247; Pi-zam & Mansfeld 2000, 213-214.)

Reasons for branding a destination are on one hand to help build a desirable image that can attract tourists and on the other hand to differentiate one’s destinations from com-petitors. Branding helps to attract tourists, who spend more and to manage image. The study made by Park and Petrick found out that their participants said that destination branding is necessary in today’s competitive tourism market. The key in branding a tourism destination is to develop an emotional link to tourists and to define the unique identity of the destination. (Lumsdom 1997, 247; Park & Petrick 2006, 236.)

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6 RESEARCH EXECUTION

6.1 Research methods

Research can be empirical or theoretical. Empirical study is observing and it is based on methods developed by theoretical study. Empirical study involves the collection of

original data for analysis. (Heikkilä 1998, 13; Clark etc. 1998, 8-9.)

There are two different research traditions that have different assumptions on how to research tourism topics. The key is to select the best method to suite the research pur-pose. These methodologies are called paradigms. Paradigms explain the world in dif-ferent ways such as positivistic ways or phenomenological ways. Positivism views the social reality as external and objective. The phenomenologist (also known as interpre-tive) approach to the social reality is concerned with understanding how individuals interpret the world. Ways to use both the positivistic and phenomenologist methods are through surveys such as questionnaires, samples, interviews. (Finn etc. 2000, 5 – 7.)

There are two different approaches to collect data: quantitative and qualitative. The differences between these two methods in one definition are that quantitative is associ-ated with positivistic paradigm and qualitative is associassoci-ated with subjectivist paradigm. Quantitative research shows data by using numbers and percentages. Quantitative re-search requires a sample that is big enough and representative. The setting of quantita-tive research is impersonal and controlled. Quantitaquantita-tive research answers questions like what, where, how much and how often. This research method is often criticised for being shallow, because it does not allow the researcher to get deep enough inside the world of the researched subject. There is a danger to make wrong conclusions about the results especially if the research subject is foreign for the researcher. (Finn etc. 2000, 8 – 9, 11; Heikkilä 1998, 15 – 16.)

Qualitative research answer the questions why, how and what kind of. It helps the re-searcher to understand the research subject, its behaviour and reasons for their deci-sions. In qualitative research the sample size is small and the setting is interactive and personal. The aim is to understand the phenomena and finding explanations for

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re-search problem areas. The data can be collected through group interviews and in-depth interviews. (Finn etc. 2000, 8, 11; Heikkilä 1998, 16-17.)

Qualitative and quantitative research differ from each other. Quantitative analyses are more unambiguous and the research divides into more separate stages than in qualitative research. In qualitative research the collection and handling of data are tied strongly together. (Heikkilä 1998, 17.)

6.2 Questionnaire design

In quantitative research a questionnaire is a method to collect data. It is important to design the questions carefully, because the form of the questions is one of the main cause of mistakes. According to Peterson (2000, 13): “Unless the researcher asks the right questions in the right way, a research project will not produce useful informa-tion.” (Finn etc. 2000, 34, 87; Heikkilä 1998, 46.)

Questionnaires should be tested before the actual research so that alterations could be made. Questions should be numbered, appropriately spaced and presented in the cor-rect order. A questionnaire should not be too long, only the necessary questions should be asked. Sensitive questions like personal details should be placed at the end of the questionnaire. Most interesting and least sensitive questions should come first. (Finn etc. 2000, 94 – 95.)

In questionnaires there are basically two types of questions used. These are open-ended and close-ended questions. In open questions the respondents are encouraged to ex-press themselves more freely. In closed questions respondents are restricted to a series of pre-determined answers. The advantages of closed-ended questions are that they are quick to answer and easy to analyse. The disadvantage is that the respondents may be forced to choose an answer which they would not choose if the question was struc-tured as an open-ended question. Other disadvantages are that respondents may answer without consideration, some alternatives may be missing and the alternatives as well as their presented order may lead the respondents’ answers. (Finn etc. 2000, 95; Heikkilä 1998, 49 - 50.)

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Open-ended questions are difficult for the researcher to handle, because classification of verbal answers is hard. Respondents are tempted more not to answer to open-ended questions than to close-ended questions. The advantages of open-ended questions are that they may produce new aspects or suggested improvements that the researcher had not thought of, they help to identify the reasons why respondents hold particular points of view on a topic or determine a respondent’s feeling on a topic. Open-ended ques-tions are also seen better as determining how strong views and opinions respondents have on specific aspects. (Finn etc. 2000, 95; Heikkilä 1998, 48 - 49.)

6.3 Sampling

According to Baker (1994, 142) “Sampling refers to systematic methods of selection. For a survey, sampling methods are used to select respondents.” A sample is a portion of the survey population. In order for the results to be reliable the sample should repre-sent a small miniature of the population. According to Nachmias and Nachmias (1981, 294) “A population may be a group of people, houses, records, legislators, and so on. The specific nature of the population depends on the purpose of investigation.” (Finn etc. 2000, 108; Heikkilä 1998, 32.)

A sample consists of sampling units. A sampling unit is not always people or respon-dents in a survey. It can be organisations, businesses, geographical areas and house-holds. A sample has to be selected from a sampling frame. Sampling frame is used to draw a sample of the chosen population. “The list of the sampling units that is used in the selection of the sample is called a sampling frame.” (Nachmias & Nachmias 1981, 296) The sampling frame should theoretically list every member of the population, but in reality this is rarely possible. When the sampling frame is reasonably complete and does not contain any systematic bias they are usually appropriated for the task. (Finn etc. 2000, 108 – 109.)

There are two types of sampling errors. These are called a sampling error and a non-sampling error. According to Baker (1994, 145) “non-sampling error is not the result of

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mistakes you have made but is a measure of the variability of the sample from the population. Sampling error must be distinguished from nonprobability errors, which are due to other kinds of mistakes that may be made in a study.” Non-sampling errors could be due to data processing, poor questionnaire implementation, ill-defined sam-pling frame or other reasons. (Finn etc. 2000, 119 – 120.)

It is also important that the sample and the statistics that rises from the data have valid-ity, credibility and precision. Validity means that the data collected from the question-naires will be accurate and it will ensure that the researcher will be able to draw the correct conclusions. Credibility in this context means that the sample’s selection proc-ess will be bias-free. (Nachmias & Nachmias 1981, 297.)

6.3.1 Sampling designs

Sampling designs are divided into probability and non-probability sampling. According to Nachmias and Nachmias (2000, 298): “The distinguishing characteristic of probabil-ity sampling is that one can specify for each sampling unit of the population the prob-ability that it will be included in the sample.” Inprobability sampling, the sample frame reflects the target population as accurately as possible. (Finn etc. 2000, 112.)

In non-probability sampling there is no assurance that everyone of the sample unit has the same chance to participate in the research. Sampling error can not be determined. Non-probability sampling is usually used when probability sampling cannot be used. Most texts recommend that non-probability sampling is used only as a last resort. In some cases researchers use non-probability sampling, because it is more convenient and the costs are lower. Researchers may also use it, because there might not be exact list available of the group. According to Baker (1994, 162): “Nonprobabilty sampling may also be effectively used in studies that seek to explore ideas that are still undeveloped.” (Baker 1994, 162; Finn etc. 2000, 112, 116.)

There are three major non-probability sampling designs: convenience samples, quota samples and snowball samples. Other non-probability samples are homogeneous

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sam-ples, structured samples and purposive samples. (Clark etc. 1998, 77; Finn etc. 2000, 118 -119.)

“A Convenience sampling is obtained when the researcher selects whatever sampling units are conveniently available.” (Nachmias & Nachmias, 1981:299) Convenience sampling might also be selected as a sampling design when the focus is on a particular issue or issues. (Clark etc. 1998, 87).

“A purposive sample is a form of non-probability sample in which the subjects selected seem to meet the study’s needs.” (Baker 1994, 163) The researcher chooses the par-ticipants subjectively to represent the population. Using purposive sampling (some-times also referred as judgemental sampling) the researcher cannot be sure whether he or she has representatives from all groups of the population. (Baker 1994, 163.)

Quota sampling is often used in market research, because it is low-cost and it provides some assurance of representatives. In quota sampling, sampling frames are not set up. It is typical to quota sampling that the researcher chooses which individual to inter-view.(Baker 1994, 163; Finn etc. 2000, 118 – 119.)

Snowball sampling can be used when the focus group is small and/or they possess rare or unusual characteristics. “Snowball sampling relies on referrals from initial subjects to generate additional subjects.” (Statpac 2006) In other words it means that first partici-pants give names of other participartici-pants that would be right for the survey. Snowball sampling is used in sociological research. (Clark etc. 1998, 88.)

The five major probability sampling designs are; simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling and multi-stage sampling. Simple ran-dom sampling is the most basic one of the probability sampling designs. This sampling design has two kinds of approaches to use. One is the lottery method and the other one is a table of random numbers. According to Nachmias and Nachmias (1981, 301)

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“Ei-ther of these two procedures ensures that every sampling unit of the population has an equal and known probability of being included in the sample.” (Clark etc. 1998, 77.)

In systematic sampling, sampling frame is not too large. This method of probability sampling is seen as one of the most inexpensive and direct method. “With systematic sampling, each sampling unit in the population has a 1/K probability of being included in the sample.” (Nachmias & Nachmias, 1981, 303)That means that if the population is 20 000 and the researcher needs a sample of 100, the researcher picks every 200th per-son. Although it might be that every 200th person might be for example from the same age or race group. (Finn etc. 2000, 114; Nachmias & Nachmias 1981, 303.)

When using stratified sampling the researcher divides the population into groups for example depending on their sex. “Stratified sampling is used to primarily to ensure that different groups of a population are adequately represented in the sample.” (Nachmias & Nachmias 1981, 303) The aim in stratified sampling is to gain a reliable sample that is based on prior knowledge of the population. (Finn etc. 2000, 115.)

When the sampling frame is large it is wise to use cluster sampling. The aim is to select units from the sample such as small geographical areas like a city. The disadvantage of cluster sampling is that it does not entirely follow the strict rules of random sampling. (Clark etc 1998, 85; Finn etc. 2000, 116.)

“A common form of multistage cluster sampling with stratification is used when re-searchers want to carry out surveys of areas (cities, states).” (Baker 1994, 156) Multi-stage sampling combines various types of sampling methods. The sampling involves different stages. For example the stages can be a preparation of a sample unit, random selection of a number of cities and random selection of an appropriate number of re-spondents in each city. (Clark etc. 1998, 84; Finn etc. 2000, 116.)

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Often resources available to the researcher create limitations to the hoped sample size.

The resources are usually time and money. Sample size is affected by different factors such as population’s heterogeneity, details of results, level of confidence, error mar-ginal, mean errors, researched cases proportion, expected loss and size of population. (Clark etc. 1998, 88 – 90; Heikkilä 1998, 40 – 43.)

According to Howitt and Cramer (2000, 206): “The reliability and validity of the de-pendent variable affects the ideal sample size. The more reliable and valid your meas-urements the smaller your sample size needs to be.” Sample should have at least 50 units. Usually the bigger the population is the smaller the proportion has to be in order to get reliable results. (Heikkilä 1998, 43.)

6.4 Research execution and data

The researcher used quantitative methods through a questionnaire (appendix 1.) that the researcher designed to answer the main question of what kind of perceptions and images Irish people have about Finland as a tourism destination. The questionnaire (appendix 1.) was designed by using both open-ended and close-ended questions. With open-ended questions respondents are able to answer the questions more freely and they may produce new aspects or suggested improvements that the researcher had not thought of, they also help to identify the reasons why respondents hold particular points of view on a topic or determine a respondent’s feeling on a topic. (Heikkilä 1998, 48) Because this research main emphasise is searching people’s perceptions, it was important to get people to answer the questions in their own words. To make sure that the questionnaire (appendix 1.) would help the researcher to answer the research questions she first tested the questionnaire (appendix 1.). The researcher found out that there was no reason to change the original questionnaire (appendix 1.), because the first participants were answering the questions in a way that the questionnaire (appen-dix 1.) was intended.

In this bachelor’s thesis the sample is the people in the Republic of Ireland that fit to the boundaries of the questionnaire (appendix 1.). Sampling unit is a member of the population, in this case an Irish person fitting to the boundaries of the questionnaire

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(appendix 1.). The researcher tried to get a sampling size of 100. The researcher got a sample of 68.

The researcher designed her questionnaire (appendix 1.) in the way that there were different age groups. She divided the whole Irish population into 5 different age groups and tried to get the same number of participants from all of the groups. This method ensured that every person of the population had an equal chance to participate in the enquiry. The questionnaire (appendix 1.) had some boundaries such as interviewees had to be citizens of the Republic of Ireland and had to be over the age of 15.

The data was gathered through interviewing participants and through sending ques-tionnaires (appendix 1.) to participants. The researcher used two different kinds of sampling methods to collect. The first idea was to use a stratified sampling method. But the researcher found out that randomly chosen participants were not willing to answer the questionnaire survey. Hence the researcher changed her sampling method to cluster sampling. The researcher combined both stratified and multistage cluster sam-pling together. Since the researcher was not able to gather enough sample units with the stratified sampling method, it was vital to change the sampling method. What the researcher found out through using stratified sampling was that it was really time con-suming to find participants who would have had the time and interest to participate in the questionnaire survey. With the use of multistage cluster sampling, the researcher got enough participants to ensure the conclusions to be drafted.

The researcher interviewed 22 persons in Cork, Dublin and Sligo using the stratified sampling method. The interviews took place in parks, shopping centres and bus sta-tions. Although the researcher interviewed people in different cities in Ireland there was no guarantee that the participants were from these places. What the researcher found out was that many participants were not keen on participating in the questionnaire sur-vey. Most of the participants said they would not be the right participants, because they do not know anything about Finland. That is why it was vital for the researcher to change the gathering method to ensure to get a larger sample size. The researcher got more questionnaires (appendix 1.) back by using the multistage cluster sampling method. With this sampling method the researcher got 46 new participants from cities of Sligo and Dublin.

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6.5 Data analyses

The researcher started the data analysis already in Ireland. The data was analysed with Microsoft Excel program, because it was convenient and accessible. The researcher did not use the SPSS-programme, because she did not have access to it in Ireland. Before starting the actual analyses the researcher had to clean some of the data that was not accurate or useful for the research. The Microsoft Excel program allowed the re-searcher to draw diagrams and tables to show the data more clearly. The participants in the survey were divided into different groups such as age, occupation and sex. The main questions of the questionnaire (appendix 1.) from number two to number eight were analysed separately. From each of these questions diagrams were drawn to ex-plain the data more clearly. Different variables were examined together to show the differences and the similarities.

6.6 Research reliability and validity

Basic requirement for a good research is that it gives reliable answers to research ques-tions. The research should be conducted truthfully, objectively and in a way that does not cause harm for the respondents. (Heikkilä 1998, 28.)

Validity refers to how much it has measured what it was supposed to measure. (Heik-kilä 1998, 178). Validity means that the data collected through the questionnaires will be accurate and it will ensure that the researcher will be able to draw the correct con-clusions. (Nachmias & Nachmias 1981, 297). In rough, validity means the lack of sys-tematic error. Research should measure exactly what it is supposed to measure. To avoid searching for the wrong things, the researcher should set specific goals for the research. Validity is difficult to research afterwards, so it has to be checked in advance by carefully planned and well considered data collection. (Heikkilä 1998, 28.)

Reliability means research results’ accuracy. The research results can not be random. Repeatability to get similar results is a one requirement for a realible research. The researcher has to be sharp and critical throughout the whole research process. There should not be any mistakes in collecting, entering, processing or interpreting the

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results. Most important for the researcher is to interpret the results right and use analysing methods that he or she masters well. (Heikkilä 1998, 29.)

Research has to be as well as valid and reliable also objective. The researcher can not allow his or her political or ethical beliefs to affect the research process. (Heikkilä 1998, 30)

The researcher tested the questionnaire (appendix 1.) to make sure that the questions were relevant and that the results obtained from the questionnaire (appendix 1.) would give enough information to answer the research questions. The researcher interpreted the results objectively and reliably.

7 RESEARCH FINDINGS

7.1 Interviewees background

Interviewees were all citizens of the Republic of Ireland. They had to be at least the age of 15. The participants were interviewed in Cork, Dublin and Sligo. There were alto-gether 68 persons who participated in the enquiry.

7.2 Questionnaire analyses

From the 68 participants that answered the questionnaires 41 % (28 persons) were men and 59 % (40 persons) were women. The researcher found out that the ones that were most likely to answer were aged between 15 and 39 as is shown in diagram 2.

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